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Yeast

Q: Is Yeast natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No extraction from yeast. Reconstructed from synthetic fermentation-product molecules..

NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC, POPULAR AND WEIRD / fruity · earthy · floral

Yeast

Category	NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC, POPULAR AND WEIRD
Subcategory	fruity · earthy · floral
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's/brewer's yeast)
Appearance	Cream to tan colored paste (fresh) or granular powder (dried)
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Europe, North America
Pyramid	Heart

Warm, bready, fermented-sweet. Active yeast smells doughy and faintly alcoholic: rising bread dough, a bakery at dawn, or headspace above fermenting beer.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Warm, bready, faintly alcoholic. The doughy, living smell of active fermentation. Less sweet than baked bread, more sour and alive.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Fresh fermented-dough warmth, faintly alcoholic

After a few hours

Bready warmth, buttery diacetyl

After a few days

Persistent warm-bready comfort

The Full Story

Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) produces its characteristic smell through fermentation byproducts: ethanol, CO2, higher alcohols, esters (ethyl acetate, isoamyl acetate), and carbonyl compounds.

Live fermentation is more alcoholic, slightly sour. The baked version is warmer, more caramelized, with vanillin from lignin in flour.

In perfumery, yeast notes add fermented, bready warmth between gourmand and savory. Built from 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, ethyl butyrate, and diacetyl.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Acetyl Furan · Ambermax · Ambrofix · Egg · Ethyl Maltol · Flour · Furfural · Genepi

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces over 600 different volatile compounds during fermentation. The specific profile depends on temperature, sugar source, and oxygen levels.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No extraction from yeast. Reconstructed from synthetic fermentation-product molecules.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture; key odorants: acetaldehyde (C₂H₄O), ethanol (C₂H₆O), isoamyl alcohol (C₅H₁₂O)
CAS Number	68876-77-7
Botanical Name	Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's/brewer's yeast)
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	SACCHAROMYCES · FERMENTATION AGENT
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Cream to tan colored paste (fresh) or granular powder (dried)

In Perfumery

Heart modifier for gourmand and fermentation accords. Key molecules: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, ethyl butyrate, diacetyl. Bridges sweet-gourmand and savory-fermented territories.